By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The High Council for Communication (CSC) of Burkina Faso has imposed a 50 million CFA franc (€76,200) fine on French multimedia group, Canal+ International for failing to comply with its contractual obligation to provide free access to national public television channels in the country.
According to the regulator’s decision dated June 12, 2026, the company did not fully implement the free-to-air broadcasting of channels from the Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina, even after subscriptions expired, by maintaining technical restrictions such as SMS-based activation.
The CSC stated that Canal+ had ignored a formal notice and a final deadline set for June 11, 2026.
A 2024 convention requires Canal+ to continue broadcasting national public channels, even if subscriptions expire.
Canal+ has been granted a new 30-day extension to fully broadcast public channels and will face “more severe penalties” if it fails to comply, the CSC said.
Burkina Faso has suspended almost all Western media outlets, including French news organisations RFI and France 24, since a military junta took power in a 2022 coup.
In May, the country banned French-language channel TV5 Monde from broadcasting after accusing it of “disinformation” and “promotion of terrorism” over its coverage of recent jihadist violence in neighbouring Mali.
